


You Can Rest, Now.

by jwc



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Canonical Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, I wrote this at 3 in the morning because I couldn't sleep after watching Endgame, Spoilers, Tony Stark Centric, tony's POV during /that/ scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-08 12:55:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18623713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jwc/pseuds/jwc
Summary: ***** AVENGERS: ENDGAME SPOILERS *****Tony Stark snaps his fingers.And then he dies.





	You Can Rest, Now.

**Author's Note:**

> I saw endgame last night..... holy shit. I just needed to get some emotions off of my chest so instead of sleeping I came up with this. After this short fic I'll probably just ignore canon because I refuse to believe Tony Stark is actually dead.

Tony watched as Thanos snapped his fingers together, the dull clink of the metal echoing in the silence that surrounded the two of them. Thanos' face fell, and he turned the gauntlet over. The infinity stones were no longer embedded in the metal. He looked over to Tony in confusion, as if to ask him _How?_

Tony lifted up his right arm. Six glowing stones drifted into place on his armor. 

Immediately, pure fire raced up his arm into the rest of his body. He felt the power of the stones coursing through his skin, through his blood. He pushed through the pain. Doctor Strange had told him that this was the one time out of fourteen million, Tony had to do this. This was his destiny. 

He looked up at Thanos, deep breaths wracking his frame. "I..." He whispered, swallowing down the agony he felt. "Am..." 

Thanos was staring at him with something akin to fear in his eyes. This was for Pepper, for Morgan, for Peter. He could save the entire world from annihilation. His life for trillions. Tony took another breath, raised his hand higher. "Iron Man," He finished. His middle finger and thumb touched each other for a second, and he snapped. 

The beings that Thanos had brought to Earth began to disintegrate. The battlefield quieted as everyone watched the army turn to dust, like how they had watched their own loved ones disappear when Thanos had snapped his own fingers. The quiet descended over both sides. The Avengers stood still, still not processing that it was over. Tony turned his attention to the harbinger of all this destruction.

Thanos stared right back at him. At first, Tony thought something went wrong. _Why was he still here?_

Then, his armor began to blow away in the wind, and Thanos was no more. It was really over. Tony relaxed against the rubble he had fallen into, letting his arm drop onto the ground. The infinity stones glowed innocently from the back of his hand, illuminating the melted mess of his suit. Pain still raced through his blood, but Tony just focused on breathing.

 

When Rhodey found him, Tony already knew he was dying. He hadn't accepted it yet, but he knew. He knew this was his last battle as soon as Thanos had picked up his gauntlet. Doctor Strange had told him he was important once he traded the time stone for Tony's life. Tony's importance was that he would sacrifice himself to save everyone. The stones were still infused with the metal of his suit, his skin burning away because of the power they held. The power he had wielded. 

Rhodey was speaking to him, maybe. Tony didn't even have the energy to blink. Instead he stared, unfocused, as his best friend stood above him, trying to hold back tears. 

"Mr. Stark?" _Peter_. The Iron-Spider suit landed silently on the ground in front of Tony, its mask off. Peter's pupils were blown wide, his lips pursed together tightly. "Mr. Stark, we won," Peter said hoarsely. Tony could just stare at him. At his kid. Peter was not like Morgan, no. Morgan was Tony's flesh and blood. But Peter was still his kid. Tony was about to leave him behind, join the other family members that Peter had already lost. Tony didn't want to go, but this wasn't his choice. 

_His life for trillions_. 

Peter grabbed onto him, his voice thick with sorrow. He was talking-- no, _pleading_ \-- for Tony to stay. To not die just minutes after they had reconnected. 

Five years without his kid. 

But Peter was back, he was alive. Bloody, but alive. Not made up of millions of dust particles that were scattered across an alien planet. Tony wished he could open his mouth, to tell Peter what he wanted to tell him on Titan five years prior. 

All he could do was look into Peter's eyes and try to show him. _It's okay_ , he wanted to say. _I love you_. 

Suddenly, Peter was gently moved aside, and all Tony could see was Pepper. His wife, the mother of his child. She was talking too, but Tony couldn't hear her over the ringing in his ears. He tried to fight it, a quiet "Pep," slipping out of his mouth. 

She moved closer to him. Her hair looked like its original strawberry blonde due to the red tint reflecting off of it. It fell over her shoulders, framing her face. Tony had never known what "tragically beautiful" meant, but in this instance if asked to describe Pepper, he thought he might have said that. Even though she was in pain, physically and mentally, she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life. The ringing in his ears subsided, leaving just the two of them trapped in a silent bubble. The pain was gone, Tony noticed. "We're okay. You can rest now," Pepper said. 

Tony could rest now. He had done his part-- sacrificed _everything_. It could all be over, if he wanted. His destiny was fulfilled. 

He would never see Morgan learn how to ride a bike. He would never be in a room with both of his kids at the same time. Never celebrate his tenth wedding anniversary, never go to his kids' graduations. He _had_ been there for his daughter's birth. He had married the love of his life. He had spent countless hours with his friends. _He had lived_. 

Now, it was over. He could rest. 

Tony didn't believe in God. His lifestyle didn't allow for him to sit back and let a higher being decide everything for him. 

As his breaths slowed, he realized he wasn't scared. Finally, he was okay with not knowing what was going to happen to him. 

He looked one last time at Peter, at Pepper, at the heroes standing further away from his dying body. He would miss them, and they would miss him. He didn't think he was really going to be gone though. 

His gaze drifted to the ground, and he allowed himself to relax. Pepper touched her forehead to his shoulder, and Tony breathed out one last time.

Slowly, peacefully, he rested.


End file.
